Ice Hockey Club Wins Croatian Sports Brand of the Year

Ice hockey club KHL Medveščak Zagreb has beaten off the likes of Hajduk Split and Dinamo Zagreb to be crowned the best sports brand in Croatia for the second year in a row…

As well as taking out this year’s ‘SPORTO brand 2014’ title, Medveščak, who have constantly sold out home matches this season, were also ranked in the Top 3 sports brands in the region. The club’s loyal fan-base have a reputation in the Kontinental Hockey League, and even broke the world record last season for the loudest cheer at an Indoor Sports Stadium when 15,200 fans, with the help of a megaphone, reached 130.02 decibels.

”When the public pronounces you the best brand for the second year in a row and you achieve that while competing with huge national and regional sports brands with long and rich traditions, then you know your hard work and effort paid off. None of this would be possible without our partners who support this club and the fans for whom this club thrives, which is why this recognition isn’t just for the club but for all of us together. Regardless of the happiness of achieving everything and of the public recognizing our work and value, we take this recognition as one with a burden at the same time. Now we have to justify this recognition to the public with the quality of our work and the way we lead the club in the future”, said Ranko Vucinic, Medveščak’s Director of Communications who has been with the club since 2009 and took part in creating the new Medveščak.

Other nominees for the award were football clubs GNK Dinamo Zagreb, HNK Hajduk Split, and NK Rijeka along with water polo team VK Jug CO. The SPORTO award for brand of the year used to only be bestowed upon Slovenian clubs and athletes and was called SPORTO Znamka leta, but with cooperation with the Institute for Market Research Mediana in 2013 the awards were opened up to Croatia and Serbia. SPORTO and Mediana developed an inquiry into brand quality based on eight criteria: recognizability, results, attractiveness of club’s image, personality, quality and quantity of public involvement, global context, and public perception. (pic: Medveščak)